Formation | 1991 |
---|---|
Founder | Lew Childre |
Type | 501(c)(3) Nonprofit |
Headquarters | Boulder Creek, California |
Katherine Floriano, Brian Kabaker, Dan Bishop, Diana Govan, Donna Koontz | |
Key people | Rollin McCraty |
Parent organization | Quantum Intech |
Affiliations | HeartMath LLC |
Website | https://heartmath.org |
The HeartMath Institute (HMI) is a research and education organization founded by Doc Childre and located in Boulder Creek, California, United States. [1] The institute conducts research into the function of the heart and the role they believe it plays in parapsychology. Most of their recommended treatments fit under some tradition of alternative medicine like energy medicine and integrative medicine, and their research is often published in journals devoted to these topics.
The institute has a for-profit counterpart named HeartMath LLC, which sells various techniques and devices that purport to increase "heart coherence". [2] This work has been accused of being a pseudoscience and is listed under the quackwatch index of questionable treatments. [3] [4] A review by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology failed to find independent systematic reviews or meta-analyses that support the efficacy of HeartMath treatment programs, [5] though additional federally funded trials are ongoing. [6] [7]
The institute has claimed that the heart plays a central role in regulating emotions, [8] and that various measures of heart physiology are correlated with ailments like hypertension and cognitive decline. [9] Most importantly, they have introduced a concept they call "heart coherence" defined as a state of synchronization between the heart, respiratory system, and a heart rate variability pattern. [10] They claim that by achieving a coherent state, one can gain various psychological and spiritual benefits like lower stress, [11] better decision making, [12] and the ability to cause a shift in the global consciousness at certain points in the solar cycle. [13] There's no scientific consensus about whether achieving a state of coherence does anything useful or that achieving it through HeartMath devices has any beneficial effects. [14] Some studies have showed a positive effects of HRV bio-feedback on mental health, [15] but a literature review indicates these benefits are likely due to the subject relaxing, rather than a specific psychological mechanism like coherence. [16]
The institute has developed a device that measures heart rate variability (HRV), [17] which they claim can be used to lower stress. [18] They also believe the device can measure heart coherence, [19] and that achieving this state can increase various measures of well-being. [20] The device received a positive reception from some technology-focused websites, [21] [22] though a review published by the James Randi Educational Foundation argued that the institute's speculative research about the alleged spiritual benefits of their device was "starting with a result and trying to conduct research to prove the result they already believed in", which is that the heart has "powers beyond anything we can measure with modern technology". [14]
The institute has claimed that the heart emits an energetic field that carries emotional state information capable of being detected by nearby systems, [23] that all living things are interconnected by the electromagnetic field of the earth, [13] and that the heart's field is coupled to a "field of information that is not bound by the classical limits of time and space". [23] Neurologist Steven Novella criticized the institute's re-branding of energy medicine on sciencebasedmedicine.org, referring to it as "Cargo Cult Science". He argued that HeartMath research is an example of how research methods can be misused to support a favored hypothesis, and that the institute had failed to provide any evidence that the supposed benefits of coherence could be differentiated from the benefits of relaxation. [3]
The institute has claimed that increasing coherence can amplify various intuitive abilities. [24] For example, in a 2003 study, the HeartMath director of research claimed to have telekinetically caused DNA in a beaker to unwind by bringing his heart into a state of coherence, staring at the beaker, and willing it to unwind. He also claimed to have replicated this experiment from a half-mile away. [25] The institute's claim that the heart is capable of precognition at a meeting of the International Positive Psychology Association was subsequently criticized by psychologist James C. Coyne for failing to meet the basic standards of reproducible science. He questioned why HeartMath had failed to put its more speculative research through peer review and concluded that it was lucrative pseudoscience. [23]
The institute is a proponent of quantum mysticism, a set of ideas that attempts to appropriate quantum mechanics to provide a scientific basis for spiritual beliefs.[ citation needed ] More specifically, HeartMath research has claimed that the principles of non-locality and holography can help explain heart's supposed precognitive abilities. In a 2011 study, they claimed to have demonstrated that entrepreneurs can intuit future events using the electromagnetic properties of their heart, that this effect is amplified by a state of coherence, and that the effect could be used to anticipate ideal investment amounts for startups. [26] They subsequently argued that this effect was explained by the transmission of "quantum-holographical" information received by the heart over the earth's magnetic field information from the future. [27]
Year(s) | Organization | Entity | Type | Transaction Description | Amount |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | U.S. Department of Education | HeartMath Institute | Grant | TestEdge program | ~$1,000,000 |
2010 | U.S. Navy [28] | HeartMath LLC | Purchase Order | EmWave devices | $203,455 |
2011 | U.S. Navy [29] | HeartMath LLC | Purchase Order | EmWave devices | $965,743 |
2010-2022 | U.S. Department of VA [30] | HeartMath LLC | Purchase Order | HeartMath trainings | ~$40,000/yr |
2019 | U.S. CDC [31] | NORC | Grant | HeartMath for resiliency | $1,049,996 |
2023 | U.S. NIJ [6] | FSU | Grant | HeartMath for jail staff | $498,491 |
The institute maintains a global network of random event generators in support of the Global Consciousness Project (GCP), [13] a parapsychology experiment based on the hypothesis that world events can cause emotional disturbances in the "global consciousness" which will be measurable as non-random patterns in the data collected from the network. [32] Proponents of the GCP have claimed that it is supported by a large amount of statistically significant data, [33] while detractors have argued that the supposed results are artifacts of confirmation bias. [34]
The institute also maintains a network of induction coil magnetometers that they use to monitor geomagnetic activity. [35] The stated purpose of this network is to "to quantify the impact of human emotion on the earth's electromagnetic field and tip the global equation toward greater peace". [23] They believe the earth's magnetic field facilitates unified communication between the heart's of all living creatures and that their detectors can monitor the "global coherence" of this unified system. [13]
The institute also maintains an array of sensors monitoring the electromagnetic activity of selected trees around the world. They've hypothesized that these fields carry "biologically relevant information" that can provide evidence for their theory claiming that these fields unify and interconnect all living creatures as part of the global consciousness. [36]
Kirlian photography is a collection of photographic techniques used to capture the phenomenon of electrical coronal discharges. It is named after Soviet scientist Semyon Kirlian, who, in 1939, accidentally discovered that if an object on a photographic plate is connected to a high-voltage source, an image is produced on the photographic plate. The technique has been variously known as "electrography", "electrophotography", "corona discharge photography" (CDP), "bioelectrography", "gas discharge visualization (GDV)", "electrophotonic imaging (EPI)", and, in Russian literature, "Kirlianography".
Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near-death experiences, synchronicity, apparitional experiences, etc. Criticized as being a pseudoscience, the majority of mainstream scientists reject it. Parapsychology has also been criticised by mainstream critics for claims by many of its practitioners that their studies are plausible despite a lack of convincing evidence after more than a century of research for the existence of any psychic phenomena.
Parapsychology is a field of research that studies a number of ostensible paranormal phenomena, including telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, near-death experiences, reincarnation, and apparitional experiences.
Magnetic therapy is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice involving the weak static magnetic field produced by a permanent magnet which is placed on the body. It is similar to the alternative medicine practice of electromagnetic therapy, which uses a magnetic field generated by an electrically powered device. Magnet therapy products may include wristbands, jewelry, blankets, and wraps that have magnets incorporated into them.
Biofeedback is the technique of gaining greater awareness of many physiological functions of one's own body by using electronic or other instruments, and with a goal of being able to manipulate the body's systems at will. Humans conduct biofeedback naturally all the time, at varied levels of consciousness and intentionality. Biofeedback and the biofeedback loop can also be thought of as self-regulation. Some of the processes that can be controlled include brainwaves, muscle tone, skin conductance, heart rate and pain perception.
Within ghost hunting and parapsychology, electronic voice phenomena (EVP) are sounds found on electronic recordings that are interpreted as spirit voices. Parapsychologist Konstantīns Raudive, who popularized the idea in the 1970s, described EVP as typically brief, usually the length of a word or short phrase.
Dean Radin investigates phenomena in parapsychology. Following a bachelor and master's degree in electrical engineering and a PhD in educational psychology Radin worked at Bell Labs, as a researcher at Princeton University and the University of Edinburgh, and was a faculty member at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He then became Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) in Petaluma, California, USA, later becoming the president of the Parapsychological Association. He is also co-editor-in-chief of the journal Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. Radin's ideas and work have been criticized by scientists and philosophers skeptical of paranormal claims. The review of Radin's first book, The Conscious Universe, that appeared in Nature charged that Radin ignored the known hoaxes in the field, made statistical errors and ignored plausible non-paranormal explanations for parapsychological data.
Charles T. Tart is an American psychologist and parapsychologist known for his psychological work on the nature of consciousness, as one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology, and for his research in parapsychology.
Harold Edward "Hal" Puthoff is an American physicist and parapsychologist. In the 2010s, he co-founded the UFO-dedicated company To the Stars with Tom DeLonge.
Russell Targ is an American physicist, parapsychologist, and author who is best known for his work on remote viewing.
Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) is a claimed sensitivity to electromagnetic fields, to which negative symptoms are attributed. EHS has no scientific basis and is not a recognized medical diagnosis, although it is generally accepted that the experience of EHS symptoms is of psychosomatic origin. Claims are characterized by a "variety of non-specific symptoms, which afflicted individuals attribute to exposure to electromagnetic fields". Attempts to justify the claim that EHS is caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields have amounted to pseudoscience.
Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is a fringe psychological treatment developed by American psychologist Roger Callahan. Its proponents say that it can heal a variety of mental and physical ailments through specialized "tapping" with the fingers at meridian points on the upper body and hands. The theory behind TFT is a mixture of concepts "derived from a variety of sources. Foremost among these is the ancient Chinese philosophy of chi, which is thought to be the 'life force' that flows throughout the body". Callahan also bases his theory upon applied kinesiology and physics. There is no scientific evidence that TFT is effective, and the American Psychological Association has stated that it "lacks a scientific basis" and consists of pseudoscience.
Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into a patient and effect positive results. The field is defined by shared beliefs and practices relating to mysticism and esotericism in the wider alternative medicine sphere rather than any sort of unified terminology, leading to terms such as energy healing or vibrational medicine being used as synonymous or alternative names. In most cases there is no empirically measurable energy involved: the term refers instead to so-called subtle energy. Practitioners may classify the practice as hands-on, hands-off, and distant where the patient and healer are in different locations. Many schools of energy healing exist using many names: for example, biofield energy healing, spiritual healing, contact healing, distant healing, therapeutic touch, Reiki or Qigong.
Radionics—also called electromagnetic therapy (EMT) and the Abrams Method—is a form of alternative medicine that claims that disease can be diagnosed and treated by applying electromagnetic radiation (EMR), such as radio waves, to the body from an electrically powered device. It is similar to magnet therapy, which also applies EMR to the body but uses a magnet that generates a static electromagnetic field.
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Doc Lew Childre Jr. is an American author and the founder of the Heartmath Institute, a non-profit organization whose objective is to help the development of "heart-brain-coherence". He works on child development and strategies for dealing with stress.
An activity tracker involves the practice of measuring and collecting data on an individual's physical and psychological activity to keep track and maintain documentation regarding their health and wellness. Used for many groups even animals as seen in collar-mounted activity trackers for dogs. A lot of the data is collected through wearable technology such as wristbands which sync with mobile apps through Apple and Samsung. As daily technologies such as phones and computers have been innovated, it paved the way for such wearable tracking technologies to be advanced. There are a variety of stakeholders involved in the usage of activity tracking through wearable technology and mobile health apps, knowing how much they track ranging from fitness, mood, sleep, water intake, medicine usage, sexual activity, menstruation, and potential diseases raises the concern on privacy given a lot of data is collected and analyzed. Through many studies that have been reviewed, data on the various demographics and goals these technologies are used provide more insight into their purposes.